The Delegation Discussion

Domain: Managing Others - Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

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Delegation is the thing most managers know they should be doing more of even though they can't seem to bring themselves to do it. We've broken the art of delegation out into a number of manageable topics but my experience tells me that many managers are still unsure how to actually approach the idea with their staff. Today, we'll suggest just a few tips on how to do that…

Ask instead of tell

The first thing we recommend is actually asking your employees to take-on the task in question (as opposed to forcing it upon them). If they don't have an option, that's a work assignment. To get the full benefits of delegation, we need to ask for their buy-in.

Most of the time, an individual is not going to refuse the request from their manager. If they are willing to refuse, there is likely a big enough reason that warrants consideration and further discussion. That conversation is highly nuanced and contextual, so we'll need to cover it at a different time.

For now, ask instead of tell. You'll get a yes most of the time and the results will be far better.

What and why, not how

One of the great benefits of delegation is the opportunity to leverage another person's perspective and skillsets.

For that reason, we recommend explaining what you want them to do and why it's important without dictating how they approach it. Controlling the how kills creativity.

If you need someone to follow a specific and prescribed method for completing a task, you need procedures more than you do delegation. Let them own the task at hand and be amazed at what they come-up with.

Set the guardrails

While we are going to have them own the "how", there is likely certain criteria that must be met. Things like hard deadlines, budget and high-level outcomes are all things that should be clearly communicated.

With that said, we want to be very careful here. It's easy to continue adding additional rules to the point that you've taken the "how" away from them. For this reason, only provide guardrails on the few things that are absolute deal-breakers.

Why them

Ideally, you have selected this person for this task based on their skills and perspective. This is a great opportunity to recognize those talents. When asking them to take on the new assignment, mention that you chose them based on their unique abilities. This is also a good time to mention how this opportunity might benefit them as well.

I know this sounds complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Below is an example of how this might sound:

"Your design on the last campaign was really compelling! Our executive reporting is data-heavy and we could use someone with your eye for visuals to help tell a more impactful story to our leaders. This would also give you some great exposure to senior management. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

Show your faith

The last piece is communicating your trust in them. After you've covered all the points above, make sure they understand this is their task to own and that you trust them to approach in whatever way they think is best.

Often times we assume our team knows we trust them without us actually saying it. So take the time to remind them they have your full support.

Thank you for reading. My hope is always that you've found something helpful and easy to implement.

This week’s action items:

1. Make sure you are asking them to take-on the task as opposed to assigning it to them.

2. Explain the "what" and the "why" but let them determine the "how".

3. Only provide criteria and limitations that are absolute deal-breakers.

4. Help them understand why they were specifically chosen for this task.

5. Reiterate that they have your full trust and support.